Organic grass fed cows may provide healthier beef, but consumers are not keen on taste: Study

Meat from grass-fed organic dairy steers may be of greater nutritional quality than conventionally raised steers, but falls below standard in overall consumer liking and flavour tests, according to research.

The study examined and compared the fatty acid profiles, meat quality, sensory attributes, and consumer acceptance of beef from dairy steers raised using either conventional, organic, or grass-fed organic methods.

Led by corresponding author Bradley Heins from the University of Minnesota, the team revealed that the fat from the grass-fed steers was greater in omega-3 fatty acids and lower in monounsaturated and saturated fat, but noted that consumers rated the grass-fed beef the lowest in overall liking and flavour.

"As consumers are demanding natural, local, organic, and grass-fed animal products, an opportunity exists for organic dairy producers to capitalize on the growing organic beef industry,"​ wrote the team.

Despite the finding that grass-fed organic meat was the lowest in terms of consumer acceptability in the USA, the team did note that 43.9% of consumers had at least a slight liking for the grass-fed steaks.

However, Heins and his colleagues noted that the quality and consistency may need to be improved before consumers will accept the beef.

Grass-fed flavour​

Heins and his colleagues noted that the majority of beef consumers in the US prefer the taste of conventional grain-fed beef - adding that the United States cattle industry most commonly finishes animals on a corn-based ration.

"Conversely, in the European Union, beef consumers assert that meat from livestock managed under less intensive production systems has superior taste than meat from intensive production systems,"​ they said.

Meanwhile, GRS steers (n = 17) consumed 100% forage from pasture during the grazing season and high-quality hay or hay silage during the nongrazing season, they said.

The team reported that organically raised (ORG group) steers had fat that was greater in oleic acid when compared to both GRS and CONV steers.

Levels of monounsaturated fats were lowest in the GRS group steers (21.9%), when compared to ORG (42.1%) and CONV (40.4%) steers.

"Furthermore, the GRS steers tended to have greater omega-3 fat and had lower omega-6 fat than the ORG and CONV steers,"​ added Heins and his colleagues. "Consequently, the GRS (1.4%) steers had a lower n-6-to-n-3 fat ratio than the ORG (12.9%) and CONV (10.0%) steers."​

In terms of sensory attributes (rated on a 0- to 120-point scale), no differences were found between ORG (71.3) and CONV (69.2) steers for overall consumer liking of the beef; however, the GRS (56.3) steers had the lowest overall liking among beef consumers.

"The ORG (73.3) steers had greater flavour liking than the GRS (56.8) and CONV (69.2) steers,"​ they said. "Conversely, the GRS (6.3) steers had the highest scores for off-flavor (0- to 20-point scale) compared with the ORG (3.9) and CONV (4.1) steers." ​

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3 comments

Pasture Raised Versus Factory Farmed

Posted by Stella Metsovas B.S.,
03 March 2014 - 23:20 GMT

We need to teach the new generations how factory farming compares to pasture raised and let them decipher for themselves. I believe the addiction to factory farmed animals and the meat they produce on the penny would be eradicated pretty easily when you show the growing conditions of animals (including gestation).
Yours in Health,
Stella Metsovas B.S.

Grass fed, not organic makes the difference

Posted by Cin An,
21 February 2014 - 14:16 GMT

These claims have been made, reviewed and explained before. It's the "grass fed" input and not the "organic" label that alters slightly the nutritional profile of animal protein (meat or milk). Conventionally raised cows who are grass fed have the same nutritional profile as organically raised grass fed cows. If you want that the nutritional benefit of certain higher omega fatty acids no need to spend the extra premium dollars for the added organic label as any, more affordable conventional grass fed beef product will deliver the same for less money.

Retrain your taste buds

Posted by Carolyn,
20 February 2014 - 17:00 GMT

We've been eating grass-finish, organic beef for nearly 4 years now, direct from the farm. Yes, it tastes different than factory meat, it tastes closer to wild meat in a lot of ways. I think that's a positive attribute.

It took about 6 months, but I eventually had a convention steak at my parents' house. Everyone raved about how good it was. I could barely choke it down, it tasted so terrible. People who have eaten nothing but factory meat don't know what real meat tastes like.

One of my children has Autism, and she's extremely sensitive to food tastes and textures. She actually spits factory meat out.